Vijayabaskar first Tamil Nadu minister to come under CBI, IT scanner

Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar faced on Wednesday a second central agency probe in two years, with the CBI knocking at his doors after the Income Tax raid last year.

Vijayabaskar is the first state minister to come under the IT and CBI scanner, with both the raids being carried out in the post-Jayalalithaa era.

The Tamil Nadu health minister, state police chief T K Rajendran and a former senior police official were among those whose premises were searched by the CBI on Wednesday as part of its probe into the Gutka scam, involving alleged payments to officials by a gutka manufacturer.

The raids began around 7 AM with the sleuths swooping down on the premises of those under its radar.

The minister could not be contacted for a response, even as his residence remained out of bounds for the media.

The Income Tax sleuths had visited him as part of a coordinated state-wide searches in April last year over alleged tax evasion. The IT raids were conducted in full media glare following information that black money was allegedly being pumped in for the R K Nagar assembly bypoll scheduled that month.

The April 12 bypoll, necessitated following the death of chief minister J Jayalalithaa in December, 2016, was later rescinded by the Election Commission over complaints of money distribution.

Rajendran, said to be the first serving police chief to face CBI raids, also could not be contacted. Sources in the state police headquarters said he has not come to office "so far."